


and time moves on

by Hihoneyimdead



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Cat, Minor Violence, References to Canon, Self-Doubt, Sort Of, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 20:41:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15227481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hihoneyimdead/pseuds/Hihoneyimdead
Summary: Things are different now.





	and time moves on

Things are different now. 

Though he was always one to keep himself pressed close to the pages of _his_ books, Caleb has only recently begun calling them _his_ again. Not used to having _his_ things. Not _their_ or _our_ things. _His_ things. 

_His_ books. _His_ cat. Frumpkin was _his_ dearest friend for so long, but now he has Nott, and he has Beauregard, and he has Yasha, and he has Molly, and he has Jester, and he has Fjord. 

_His_ friends. They care about him. Jester doesn’t keep fighting when he goes down, she runs over and helps him back up. Beauregard leads him away from the many, many eyes when he falls still after a hard-won battle. Nott does everything in her power to keep him safe. He doesn’t understand why they do these things; he is just Caleb. Just a monster. But they don’t see that, for whatever reason. Fjord still treats him as one of the group, even after he risks everything time and time again for _his_ own gains. Molly still buys him drink after drink at the end of the day, always with a smile despite the fiend in front of him. Yasha still speaks to him in their angelic speak, because they are friends. 

Friends. He hasn’t had a true one in so long. He had none in the asylum, and then he had none but Frumpkin. But now he has them and...he doesn’t know what to do with them. They are all friends, yes, but why? Why would they be friends with a wretch such as he? Nott and Beauregard know the truth, why have they not run? The others do not know, he will eventually tell them once he’s sure they will not kill him for _his_ crimes. Because he knows he would fight back, he would harm them. _His_ friends. And he does not want to do that, not to them. They don’t deserve it. 

But even as they fight now, even as the spear plows through _his_ body, even as he is pinned to the cold stone wall, Caleb knows he must keep fighting. He can. He knows he can. He was trained for this exact moment. _His_ comrades, _his_ friends failing, it’s all up to him. He can finally repay them. 

Nott goes down feet away, the orc pounding its chest and bellowing. Yasha and Beauregard are back-to-back on the other side of the room. An arrow buries itself in Yasha’s chest and she staggers. A sword digs into Fjord’s chest and he falls to his knees, but he still fires off a blast at the orc only inches away. Molly is down, Jester pressing her hands to his chest desperately. An orc raising its ax above her head, unnoticed. 

Caleb breathes, labored, and he throws _his_ palm out.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: @woozlebucket
> 
> And hey. I love you.


End file.
